To say you turn 26 today
Negates the last 24
In the first 26, you may have had lots of fun,
But in these latter, you've done so much more.
Sure it might have been joyous,
Reckless and thrilling, a whole ton of fun, but was it as fulfilling?
As raising three children
Who call you their own,
Whom you repaired and prepared
For a life of their own.
Though they may have been a hassle, while in your castle, always at war against the throne, it may have felt spiteful, and wasn't delightful, but it gave them all solid backbones.
Now they are grown and out of the nest and married having kids of their own, it is easy to see since your mid twenties how your love and your life have grown.
It is fanciful sure to be trapped Dorian Gray, in the shell of a well suited yesterday, but to put a brave face and except age with grace and the wisdom it implies, not to disguise it or feel disgust, but to proclaim it with pomp and thrust.
I'm 50! I'm 50 and I'm looking damn good, half a century old and sharp as a whip. My times not been wasted, I've had good times and bad, but I wouldn't trade one for another I've had, because each was a building block which brought me here, with the friends that I'll keep and my family I hold dear. It's a badge of honour and a tribute to luck, I'm 50, I'm 50 and I don't give a f@€#.
